From the Cubicle: Cubs-Rockies

Man, 1989. Remember that? The Boys of Zimmer won the National League whatever it was called in those days only to got beat in the playoffs. (Sound familiar?) Doug Collins led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals only to be fired. Hair Metal ruled the earth. It was a dark, dark time.

And now Collins is back. I don't get it. What, Kevin Loughery not available?

But that's basketball and this is baseball.

The Cubs, now the best team in baseball (record-wise) thanks to, of all people, the White Sox, who beat the Tampa Bay Deviled Eggs last night, take on the injury-riddled Colorado Rockies today from rainy Chicago.

Ted Lilly, who's won four straight starts to improve to Ted Lilly (5-4, 5.23) goes against Aaron Cook, who's a quite a respectable 7-3 with a 2.82 ERA this season.

Non Spoiler Alert: This time I'll try not to ruin last night's "Lost" season finale for those who haven't watched it yet. I won't mention things that were revealed, like it was Brad Sellers sleeping in that coffin.

But I did think their last-minute tribute to Harvey Korman was a nice touch. It's Hedley!

"...mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits..."

Speaking of which, welcome to everyone in the comments section. Happy Friday. Let's hope it doesn't rain. Baseball hopefully sooner rather than later.

Update: We're in some sort of rain delay but with no official start time. Mark DeRosa just said on the pregame show they're hoping for a 2:00 or 2:30 start. Lunch time.

OK, 1:40 it is and thanks to the first 50 people on the message board for pointing out my idiotic error about the 1989 playoffs. Thank you. I blame the intern who wrote that lede for me. And no Max Orient today. I've gone with an egg salad sandwich from the cafeteria that I hope was made sometime since the Cubs took a game off the Giants in 1989.

And to answer "off topic's" question on the message board, no self-respecting male should be subjected to the "Sex in and the City" movie. Just fill out this card and hand it in. You may have to turn in your resignation shortly after, but it's probably for the best. Or go the three-way route suggested on the board.

First inning

And we're off after a 23-minute delay. Gametime temps at 72 degrees with winds in the low 20-mph range blowing from the south, which means out to left. Willy Taveras bunts for a hit. Close play at first but replays show he arrived at the base at the same time as the throw. Jonathan Herrera fouls off a few pitches to make the count 2-2. Taveras runs on each pitch and Herrera fouls each pitch off. It's safe to say the hit and run is on. Taveras doesn't run but Herrera pokes a single to center. Taveras doesn't slow down and beats Jim Edmonds' throw to third. Ryan Spilborghs lines one to the left side but it's right at Mark DeRosa, who's playing third today for Ramirez. Garrett Atkins flies to shallow right, too shallow for Taveras to even think about tagging. Todd Helton hit's a three run homer to left-center and the Rockies take a 3-0 lead right quick. Chris Iannetta hits a two-out double to the right-field gap. Lester Strode, today's Walgreens celebrity pitching coach, strolls out to talk to Lilly. Strode's moved in from the bullpen today because Larry Rothschild is at his daughter's graduation in Florida. Whatever Strode said it didn't work because Ian Baker rips a fastball off the left-field wall for an RBI double. Omar Quintanilla lines out to second to end a four-run first.

Rockies 4, Cubs 0

Soriano grounds out to second. Getting a little ahead of myself on the innnigs. It's still the first. Fontenot grounds out to short. Derrek Lee bounces one off the pitcher's glove for an infield single. Soto hits it hard but right at the second baseman.

Rockies 4, Cubs 0

Second inning

The pitcher Cook pops up to shallow left. Cedeno ventures out onto the outfield grass and takes it and then gently bumps into Alfonso Soriano. Lilly strikes out Taveras on a changeup. Herrera flies out to right and Lilly has a much easier time in the second. Just a bit.

Fukudome grounds out to second. Many groundballs today with the sinkerballer Cook on the mound, so get used to it. Edmonds tops it to the right side. Helton fields it and flips to Cook covering the bag. Edmonds average approaches the .160 mark. DeRosa flies deep to right. Baker, running in cirlces, has no clue and the ball bounces off the top of his glove. DeRosa ends up on second. Cedeno grounds out to second on the first pitch and so much for the two-out error.

Rockies 4, Cubs 0

Third inning

As the sun makes an appearance, Spilborghs strikes out swinging at a fastball away. Adkins flies to left. Soriano can't find it, doesn't want it. Edmonds has to try and make a basket catch on the track at the last second and drops it. Cue the Bob Brenly dart comment. Adkins ended up on second on the play. Helton flies out to Edmonds. Iannetta skies a two-run homer to the first row in the left field. I thought for a second we were going to have another Soriano adventure on our hands, but that was a classic wind-blown Wrigley homer. Baker drills a double to the left-field gap and this one's getting out of hand. Quintanilla singles up the middle through Lilly's five hole, scoring Baker. Lilly gets the pitcher looking but gives up three unearned runs after the Edmonds error on a ball that really was Soriano's to drop.

Rockies 7, Cubs 0

Carlos Zambrano bats for Lilly, and hopefully but doubtfully will pitch for Lilly, and grounds out to second. That's six groundball outs for Cook. Soriano strikes out swinging. Fontenot flies out to left to end a seven-pitch inning for Cook. We'll see Jon Lieber in the fourth.

Rockies 7, Cubs 0

Fourth inning

Here's Lieber. Taveras flies out to right. Len and Bob field a letter from someone in Genoa City, Wis., and Brenly quickly jumps all over that. "Genoa City, Wisconsin? There's where 'The Young and the Restless' takes place," he says. Moving on, Cedeno makes a nice play on a slow roller from Herrera. Spilborghs gets ahold of one and sends it to the last row of the left-field bleachers. Atkins bloops out to Fontenot.

Rockies 8, Best Team in Baseball 0

Cook looks like he's dangerously close to stubbing his left toe on the mound and tripping during his delivery. It's driving me nuts. Lee singles to left. Soto drives it deep to right and this time Baker makes the play on the track. Fukudome walks. Edmonds singles to center -- no lie -- to load the bases for DeRosa. DeRosa knocks in Lee with a flyball to right to get the BTIB on the board. Helton makes a diving stop at first, robbing Cedeno of a hit and a couple of RBIs. End of inning.

Rockies 8, BTIB 1

Fifth inning

Lieber remains. Helton flies out to shallow center. Lieber fans Iannetta. Baker bangs his third double of the game off the left-center wall. Quintanilla grounds to short; that eats up Cedeno, allowing Baker to score. It's ruled a hit but was a play any shortstop should make. Cook bloops out to Fontenot to end the top half of the fifth.

Rockies 9, Cubs 1

Lieber hits for himself and why not? He takes a called third strike. Soriano singles to left. Cook plunks Fontenot on the elbow. Lee bounces into a 4-6-3, inning-ending double play.

Rockies 9, Cubs 1

Sixth inning

Sorry about all that bold typeface. I'm having some tech issues with some html tags I don't want just showing up. It doesn't help that some tech person is saving this story without telling me. Though, I'm sure that bold was my fault. Taveras grounds out. Herrera triples off the right-field wall. Ho-hum. Spilborghs grounds to third. Taveras has to hold. Atkins grounds out. By the way, Michah Hoffpauir is in for Lee and Henry Blanco for Soto.

Hoffpauir leads off the sixth for the Cubs and launches a ball that wedges in the ivy just below the basket in left. He's going to circle the bases anyway like it landed in the basket but is sent back to second. Fukudome hits one the other way into the wind and that one gets out to make it 9-3.Edmonds takes an nice and easy swing at a fastball and sends it deep and way out to center. I thought that was a routine flyball. He sprints around the bases like he's Pete Rose and back to back homers make it 9-4. DeRosa grounds out to short for the first out. Cedeno does the same but for the second out. Lieber gets his second at-bat in long relief and works the count even at 2-2. He takes a called third but the Cubs make it somewhat respectable.

Rockies 9, Cubs 4

Seventh inning

Helton pops up the first pitch to Fontenot in shallow right. Iannetta, who's got a double and homer, pops out to The Hoff near first. Baker hits his fourth double of the day over Fukudome's head. That's it for Lieber. Scott Eyre takes the mound. Eyre fans Quintanilla and here are Blackhawks greats Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Tony Esposito to sing TMOTTBG.

That was one of the worst versions ever. They were all singing at a different tempo. Brutal mess. Soriano lines out to short. Fontenot singles to left. As Bobby Hull rambles on, Blanco rips a two-run homer to left, to which Hull yelps, "Lay the hickory to that old horsehide!" Indeed. Well said. Ash, maple, cowhide, what's the difference? The Hoff singles to center. That's it for Cook. New pitcher: Righty Manny Corpas. Fukudome singles to right and the tying run comes to the plate in Edmonds. Edmonds gaps one by Taveras in center, driving home both runners to make it 9-8. So much for all that booing. Edmonds stands on second with DeRosa up. Meanwhile, Hull's having the time of his life in the booth. DeRosa's lays the hickory to the ol' horsehide and hits a wind-aided job to left that brings the Cubs back from 9-1 to take a 10-9 lead. Edmonds loves it, the crowd loves it, Bobby Hull loves it. Corpas, on the other hand, not so much. He gets the hook and we go to commercial. Unreal. Jason Grilli is the new pitcher. Cedeno grounds out. Jason Marquis grabs a bat and he's the second Cubs starter to pinch hit today. Marquis strikes out. Cubs talisman Bobby Hull tosses his cap to the crowd. Let's hope his toupe wasn't still in it. And we move to the eighth in a crazy Wrigley wind game.

Cubs 10, Rockies 9

Eighth inning

Carlos Marmol, who two innings ago never thought he'd get in this game, comes on to pitch. Scott Podsednik hits for Grilli and takes a called third. Seth Smith hits for Taveras. Smith strikes out on three pitches, looking at the last one. Herrera takes a called third, too, and Marmol strikes out the side looking.

Podsednik, seen launching a farmer blow, stays in to play center. Taylor Buccholz is the new pitcher. Soriano is out on a swinging bunt. Fontenot bounces out to Helton. Blanco singles to center. The Hoff strikes out swinging. Ninth inning coming up. Kerry Wood trots on.

Wood gets Spilborghs, Atkins and Helton. As long as Wood doesn't drill Spilborghs he should be fine, right? Full count and Spilborghs walks. Woods throws two balls to Atkins and that gets Blanco out there. Wood throws another ball before getting a fastball over. Atikins lines out to Fontenot who flips to second not sure if he caught the ball. Cedeno throws to first to complete the double play two different ways. That was big, as they say. Helton flies out to Fukudome in right and the Cubs win a game Bob Brenly says "they had no business winning."

Final: Cubs 10, Rockies 9

Well, that was nuts. I know my 1989 memories are a little fuzzy but that was shades of that Astros game when they erased, what, a 40-run lead? I don't know. But this sure makes up for one of those two games in Pittsburgh. Enjoy the weekend everyone. Thanks for reading and putting up with me.